When Dell put up its IdeaStorm community-feedback site, the company was surprised by the strong response in favor of shipping personal computers with Linux. The PC company then announced that it would offer Ubuntu Linux on select systems, and as of yesterday, they are taking orders. Ubuntu Linux is now available on the XPS 410n high-end desktop system at USD 849 (compared with USD 899 for the same machine with Windows installed), the E520n desktop at USD 599, and the E1505n notebook at USD 599. For now, the Ubuntu systems will only be available to customers in the United States. Availability is expected 'in the coming weeks' according to an announcement given on May 1, but Dell.com lists a shipping time of three to five days.

Well, that's not quite accurate. It really depends on the actual chipset. Here I have a Xpress 200M chipset, and here's the experience:

1) you don't get a black screen on bootup, because the ati free driver works well for 2D; installing the proprietary hardware is a bit more of a pain than, say, for a Nvidia card, but there is a good howto here: